The Royal We
by hesitation marks
Summary: "Sometimes it was far too easy to forget how things had once been. The hostility, the power struggle, the misunderstandings. Sometimes it was hard to remember a life before the arrangement that they found themselves in now." SwanQueen.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters, unfortunately.

A/N: This was written in between shifts at work on my iPhone, so all mistakes are my own. Also, SwanQueen is always endgame.

* * *

Swirling the amber liquid around her glass, Emma Swan waited. She knew that she probably shouldn't have snuck into the mayor's residence, using lock picking techniques that would put most criminals to shame. It came with such ease, after knowing what stood on the other side of the door.

Today, of course, there was nothing. Henry was staying with his grandparents. Regina was god knows where.

"The next time you decide to break and enter my property, you might want to lock the door behind you, Miss Swan."

Speak of the devil.

Instead of taking offense, the former bailsbond woman grinned as she peered over the glass. "The door was open. It's almost like you were expecting me." Emma was willing to bet that the other woman wouldn't catch her bluff. When madame mayor said nothing, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Where were you?"

Neither of them had the right to ask that, but the sheriff felt confident enough to go there. Confident and stupid. What the hell was in that liquor? Did Regina stock it with a dash of poison predisposed? Or was she expecting company to die for?

"I was sorting out a little problem."

The way that the dark-haired woman's eyes darkened told the savior everything that she needed to know, but she took it a step forward and pulled out something from her inner coat pocket. Emma stared in mild bewilderment as the small muscle beat in her palm, manicured nails curling inwards and piercing it slightly. It was beating in time with her own, which had leapt into her throat.

"Whose is that?"

The answer didn't come from the person that she expected it to.

"It's mine. But listen - "

Emma's eyes desperately flickered around the room for the source, but she couldn't find it. The voice was distinctly male, a slight gruffness to it that reminded her of how violently he'd been ripped from her life. "Graham?"

Regina Mills, to her credit, said nothing. She continued to dig manicured nails into the small vessel, blatantly ignoring the fact that Emma's eyes were wide with shock and something akin to hatred. "You're killing him!"

* * *

Waking up in cold sweat, Emma panted as she subconsciously distanced herself from the occupant on the other side of her bed. Not just physically, but emotionally. It was then that she felt the sheets shift, finally understanding the appeal of Egyptian cotton. But as empowering as the revelation was - because of what it represented, more than any materialistic tendencies - she had always been the type of person that responded readily to sight over touch. Always.

Maybe it was part of the fact that she was a non-believer.

"Well, are you just going to lie there, or are we getting breakfast?" Even with the chill that ran down her spine, the warmth that engulfed her entire being at the familiarity was overwhelming for Emma. When a pair of lips ghosted against the spot where her neck met her collarbone, she was done for.

"If you give me a minute, I'll get us some coffee..."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I've found something far more addicting. Besides, you know that I'm prone to headaches if I don't have mug pressed to my lips as soon as I awaken, so perhaps you could provide me with a cure."

Sometimes it was far too easy to forget how things had once been. The hostility, the power struggle, the misunderstandings. Sometimes it was hard to remember a life before the arrangement that they found themselves in now, even if no one else knew.

"You seem to forget that I was a sheriff, not a doctor."

Regina curved a brow at the corrective tone, before her lips evened out into a grin. "So what are you going to do? Punish me?" It was a simple statement, but it catapulted the blonde into a reminiscing daze, glazing over those beautiful hazel eyes. It bid her worry. "Emma?"

The domesticity of her first name was a tug back into the present, provoking a few hard blinks from the savior. "Sorry, I..." Had a bad dream? No that sounded ridiculous. When they first started this - whatever 'this' was - the other woman had not signed up to spend her late nights with a toddler. It wasn't something that she could go to the Charmings about either, because Snow had said it herself: she was an adult, now.

"It's nothing."

Clearly it was more than nothing, but Regina was willing to let it pass. "Okay, dear. Now, about that breakfast?" The look that followed had Emma gulping, powerless to refuse her queen anything. If there was a picture in the dictionary of the word whipped, it would be her face. Or maybe her tongue.

With an affectionate roll of her eyes, she disappeared under the fancy sheets and proceeded to save the day.

* * *

"Did he really have to be Romeo? Mercutio is a highly unappreciated role and much more dynamic than all that woe is me. Are you listening to me?" Dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously at the mere idea of being ignored. "Emma!"

The blonde didn't snap her head off because of a higher power, her neck muscles straining to keep up with her brute response rate. "Jesus! Yes, I'm listening... to the play, anyway. I don't remember this from high school."

Regina snorted rather gracelessly, but being near the high definition speakers of the auditorium drowned it out with the sound of prepubescent teenagers reciting lines from Shakespeare. "Of course you don't. It's only the most misquoted and glorified story of young suicidal love in history." Her eye roll spoke volumes, even if she didn't really mind the fact that Emma was not as cultured as she considered herself to be.

"Not everyone sits around thinking of ways to pretend to be dead."

"No, but a lot of people have considered running away to be with the person that they - " Cutting herself off, Regina ignored the sympathy looks and the discreet hand squeeze, which promised that they would address this later. Privately, of course.

"I'd run away with you, if you asked me to."

Regina's eyes fluttered closed in acknowledgment. "Well, I haven't. Don't hold your breath, Miss Swan. Because I probably never will."

"That probably sounds very promising, Juliet."

Curse the saying like mother, like son.

* * *

After a short-lived tickle attack from both mommies, Henry was read a bedtime story and tucked into bed. This allowed the two women a moment of reprieve, after an evening of perfecting the art of friendly tolerance. Regina was slipping off her heels by the body length mirror as she read through a small pamphlet that was given by the doors of the auditorium.

"You're unusually quiet," Emma observed without looking up from her reading material. "Afraid I'm going to ask you to continue what you started out there?"

Regina's upper lip curled in disdain. "You know that I'm not afraid of anything." Her nostrils flared slightly at the mere implication. She was not weak. "Daniel and I were going to run away. We thought we could escape fate. We were fools."

"Maybe you just weren't running in the right direction," Emma wondered aloud, finally lowering the document to focus her gaze squarely on her once adversary. "We both were."

"If you're trying to get me to say it, I'm going to tell you right now that it's not happening."

"Regina," the blonde sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "If I really needed you to say anything, I wouldn't be here. I know better than to expect more. We're two warm bodies sharing a bed. That's all." There was more, Regina could see it in the way she inhaled sharply, bracing herself.

"... But what I know and what I feel are two separate things."

The intensity in her gaze was too much and they were both forced to look away.

"I'll be by in the morning, to take Henry to school," Emma finally continued, a dejected look on her face when her confession was met with silence. A cold, hard silence. As she collected her jacket, the savior expected her bedmate to stop her. To possibly berate and anger her, in the process of pulling her back into the bedroom. To tell her to stay without saying a word.

As she looked over her shoulder, Emma only saw Regina's back as she perched herself on the foot of the bed. Her head was bowed slightly, while her breaths came and went in short puffs of air. As soon as she felt that she was being watched, however, Regina straightened up and squared her shoulders.

It was like watching someone prepare for battle and Emma didn't have it in her to do the same, so she left.


	2. Chapter 2

Five minutes later, Emma found herself tapping her fingernails absentmindedly against the steering wheel. There was no rhythm to her movements, which would have driven Regina mad. She wasn't a fan of actions without a purpose. Maybe that's why it was so easy to think of their arrangement as something more - well, open to interpretation.

As the confusion set in, fists flew against the wheel and she had to use her last ounce of control to avoid the horn. Henry was still sleeping, after all, and the rest of Storybrooke didn't need to know her whereabouts. Still, the bright yellow bug gave her away.

Every single time.

A light tapping on her window wasn't enough to catch her attention, so the noise moved to the hood of her car, where a pair of hands slammed down against the surface.

"What in Shakespeare's name are you doing?"

Emma didn't reply. Sure, so maybe she was being vindictive for her silence earlier. What did it matter?

"Open the door."

The surprised blonde didn't even look as she moved over to unlock the passenger's seat, agreeing to do things on her terms. A loud, overexaggerated sigh followed as the figure moved around the parked vehicle. Once they claimed shotgun and clicked in their seatbelt, they both sat there in silence.

"Drive."

"Regina, we can't just - "

"Drive!"

Emma knew better than to make the queen repeat herself a third time.

* * *

The rest of the drive around town was quiet and uneventful. The driver by default had managed to sneak in a few glances in Regina's direction, but she was caught when she stared too long during a red light. Even as the color rushed to her cheeks, Emma felt no shame.

"Are you calm, now?"

The savior furrowed her brows at the question. Is that what this was about? Some kind of ploy to get her from inadvertedly giving away her new position in Regina Mill's life?

Okay, so there was more than one position, but that was not an after school special...

"Look what you've done," Regina tsked as she gathered the other woman's hands in her own, examining her bruised knuckles. "Stay still."

With a wave of her hand, the marks of unaddressed anger were gone.

"I thought we agreed that we weren't going to use magic anymore, for Henry's sake?"

As ungrateful as it might have sounded, both of them knew what was at stake. Regina regarded her son's biological mother with a hard look, before clenching her jaw and nodding her head firmly. Extending her hand, she stared at Emma expectantly.

"What? Did you just get them done? You know, it's not very practical to have long nails."

The glare that followed was almost comedic. Almost. Because the idea of the dark-haired sorceress withholding sex for a week was not the least bit funny.

"I don't understand... oh, your nail is broken."

Regina nodded again, a little bit of relief relaxing her features.

"Yes, dear."

"Sorry?"

"An apology isn't going to do me any good, at this point."

Emma stared blankly, until it dawned on her. Regina wanted her to fix it. Like, with magic? Wow, she hadn't used magic since... when was the last time? It almost sounded like she was talking about her former sex life.

"Regina, I'm not sure that this is a good - "

But she ended up swallowing her own words as another pair of lips engulfed hers, stealing her breath in the process. I mean, we're talking complete motor function malfunction here; everything, except for her lips. They chased each other relentlessly, until Regina was practically hovering over her lap, pinning her hands against either side of the driver's seat.

The car was too small for any graceful movements, but somehow, Regina had managed to make an artform out of manuevering herself around the yellow bug. "Ugh, Regina..." A small whimper escaped her lips.

After hazel eyes locked on a pair of the queen's assets, the other accidentally bumped into the power button of the stereo and Stairway To Heaven started playing. Immediately, Regina stopped what she was doing, which nearly killed a very aroused Emma.

"What? Have you never tried to get the Led out?" she questioned quickly, before trying to capture the other pair of lips between her teeth. Instead, she ended up nipping lightly at Regina's pristine jawline, for she had angled her face away from her ministrations.

"Sometimes I forget that I still hate you, with every fiber of my being and then some."

"Could you remember that when we're not in an awkward position in my car, out in the middle of nowhere?"

"No." With a pause, Regina seemed to tilt her head slightly. The loud blaring noise of static rang out and a small walkie talkie was pulled out of the mayor's purse. "False alarm."

What was that? Operation Cobra came to mind and she could only hope that Regina was in fact using it to keep an ear on their son. Unless she was into voyeurism, which was a whole other bag of tricks...

"Henry's fine."

Well, that was a relief. There were certain kinks that she was open-minded to, but spying on other people? God, what if it was her parents or something? Then again, hearing Snow go on and on about how inherently bad Regina was for Emma? That forbidden edge was enticing...

Without touching upon the fact that they weren't just acquaintances, as the Charmings blindly believed.

"That static was probably the sound of leaves rustling as he escaped through the window."

"... Drive. Home. Now."

"Regina, I was kidding!" Oh, now she'd really done it. "Could you not look at me like that?"

"These are my eyes. They're the same ones that watch you get dressed in the morning, when you leave the bathroom door open on purpose just to get me hot and bothered. They also watched you leave tonight."

"What else could I have done? Did you want me to fight? Because I have to tell you, I'm getting a lot of mixed signals here..."

"Just drive."

It really didn't take much convincing. While they were at a stop sign, Emma placed her hand over the other and when she removed it, Regina's broken nail was repaired. It wasn't properly noticed until much later.


	3. Chapter 3

"Would you at least let me stop the car, first?"

The passenger's side was already open and Regina was one foot out the door, long before the vehicle came to a rolling stop. There she went, strutting right up to her residence, leaving Emma behind to contemplate whether or not she should follow. This was about their son, right?

Placing his safety above all else, the blonde was quick to follow. It was so quiet inside that one could probably hear a pin drop. Emma was almost disappointed that her investigative skills wouldn't be put to good use.

"Like I said, false alarm."

She probably didn't have to be so smug about it, but since when was Regina Mills a modest person?

Standing by the doorway of Henry's room, Regina beamed at how clean and orderly it was. It reflected upon her as a parent, of course. "Not a hair out of place," she added with a slight grin, making the sheriff concede defeat with a simple upward tilt of her chin as she turned on her heel.

Emma was about to do the same, when she spotted a charm on the floor. Picking it up and rolling it between her thumb and her index finger, she let her eyes trail across the room and her lips parted slightly in intrigue at the movement under her son's bed. Grabbing a baseball bat from the closet, she carefully followed her suspicions.

Before she was level with whatever was under there, a hand reached out from under the covers and grabbed her wrist. "Please don't hurt her," Henry whispered with wide eyes, causing Emma's blood to run cold. "She doesn't have another place to go."

Heeding his warning, the savior reluctantly set aside the bat by his nightstand and leaned all the way down.

When her cheek pressed against the floor, her calm presence managed to coax the other being from underneath the bed frame. Her nose was licked, causing her to laugh in surprise and she pulled away to sit up. The little fluffy creature crawled into her lap and wagged its tail, peering up at her with wide eyes.

"You know your mother will never allow it."

"You're my mother, too."

Oh, crap. Yet another reason for Regina to hate her guts with the fire of a thousand suns. It's not like she could say no, when two sets of puppy dog eyes were staring back at her.

"I can't keep a dog either, Henry. I don't know how to."

"I'll come over every day, right? She just needs food and water."

"She?"

"Yeah, it's a girl. Obviously," Henry pointed out as the pup moved to its back on the floor, waiting to be pet. "But I haven't been able to figure out her name, yet."

"Obviously."

"So, can we, Mom? Please?"

* * *

The next morning, Emma found herself looking frantically for the newspaper, which she swore she'd placed on the kitchen counter. "It didn't just grow legs and walk - " The sound of paper being shredded was heard from the living room and the blonde found herself walking into what could probably pass as confetti.

"Really? You couldn't have spared the classifieds? I guess you really don't want to be found, do you?"

A brief scratch behind the ears was satisfactory for the little mutt, which bounded out of the room and into the kitchen.

Emma sighed as she swept the remnants of her daily routine into the trash bin, before hearing loud barks and yelling. Hoping that the dog hadn't lunged herself at the postman, she ran into the kitchen and nearly ran straight into none other than her almost lover. "Regina?"

"What the hell is that?"

"Don't ask."

The dog continued to bark, its fur bristling as it was backed up into the corner by the queen's menacing gaze.

"Did you even check to see what it was, before you invited it into your home? I swear, Miss Swan, you are about as clueless as you were when you first got here," Regina practically snarled, lifting her hands to form a fireball. "Show your true self, mongrel."

Emma looked on as the dog merely stared back at the dark-haired woman with wide, fearful eyes. Its whole body trembled and it looked like its legs were going to give out. When nothing happened, Regina lowered her hand and pursed her lips.

"Satisfied?"

"Not really," the mayor replied with a disinterested tone, looking away from the cowering animal to acknowledge the other woman. "I brought you coffee."

"Oh."

Regina grabbed her own styrofoam cup and felt it warming her hands, smirking slightly over the brim. "What's that now? Cat got your tongue?"

"No, no cats," came Emma's immediate response, glancing over her shoulder to see that the dog was gone. "Shit, did you leave the door open?"

"Possibly."

Emma ran out to the front door and stood by the entrance, peering out into the street as she watched the retreating form of the mutt going down the street. Great, now Henry was going to be mad at her, too. "Two for two," the sheriff muttered, sensing Regina's presence as she moved to stand beside her.

"That was Henry's, wasn't it? I knew I smelled dog in his room the other night..."

"You knew?!"

"Of course, dear. What kind of mother would I be, if I didn't snoop around in my son's life? I was just waiting for him to tell me."

Emma groaned as she closed the front door and repeatedly slammed her forehead against it.


	4. Chapter 4

In roughly seven hours, Henry was due back home from school and Emma would have to explain why the dog was gone. Of course, that was a double-edged sword in itself, because telling him the truth meant antagonizing Regina. She did nearly scare the dog to death; it was just a protective act, not a malicious one.

Making a lost and found poster wasn't a fail proof idea either, considering that the dog's real owner could come around asking for answers.

"Leave the porch light on."

Emma's brows furrowed as she turned her head to face the other woman, waiting for her to elaborate.

"When it gets really dark, we all search for a light."

Where did that come from? Little moments like these made her remember why they could never stay platonic. The mayor would just go and say things like that...

"Just do it, Miss Swan," Regina nearly snapped, her foul mood possibly tied to sexual frustration. At least, that's the only thing that Emma could think of. Unless the other woman was using someone else.

No, that made her frown profoundly.

"I think we both need a drink."

Of course they did. And that's how they ended up at one of the local bars, trying to be discreet about how closely they were sitting together without ripping each other's throats out. It was progress at best, to the wandering eye.

Emma hadn't said a word since they sat down, causing Regina to look for attention elsewhere. The savior didn't notice until there was a tall, dark, and handsome male talking the other woman up. She wasn't buying any of that, was she?

Emma started mouthing all the typical responses to the questions that she overheard Regina asking, making him out to be a total doorknob in her mind.

Idiot.

That was the only word that came to mind when madame mayor noticed the blonde's lips moving and her over exaggerations.

Idiot, yes, but that was her idiot.

And Regina was not going to waste an opportunity to see the green eyed monster in action, so she stepped a little closer to the unsuspecting stranger, tugging lightly on his mismatched tie. "Let us dance," she whispered into his ear, as sensually as she knew it would appear to the untrained eye from a distance.

His hands were too large, his palms rough and calloused as they slipped into hers on the way to the dance floor.

Not even the steady thuds coming from the local band's bass drum was enough to drown out the way that Emma's heart beat loudly in her own ears. First she lost the dog and now this? Maybe it was the drunk haze talking as it clouded her vision, but her limbs sprung into action before she could think about it twice.

His hands were not on a proper place on her body, which was a lose-lose situation: nowhere on the expanse of her skin would be proper.

"The song is over. Like I said, you can step away from me now..."

A few gasps were heard as Emma's fist collided with his cheekbone, causing the stranger's head to snap to the side as his hands fell from his dance partner's waist unexpectantly. "Maybe that will fix your hearing. She said she's done with you." Even as she said it, the sheriff felt a pang of sympathy for the rejected expression on his face. She knew, all too well, what it was like to be used by Regina Mills.

* * *

"Get in the car."

Emma had retired herself from the bar shortly after the altercation, a little bit thankful that the authorities hadn't been called. Then again, she was the authority. The thought alone made her chuckle to herself, unaware what it might look like on the outside.

"I'm glad that you're able to find some humor in this situation, because I can't."

Emma rolled her eyes and continued walking, although she could hardly manage to stay in a straight line. Ha, straight... what a joke that was!

"You'll ruin your boots."

That gave Emma pause, glancing down at her footwear and the gravel that was sure to wear out the heel. "What do you care?" she practically yelled, huffing a few stray pieces of blonde tresses from her face.

"I care... about having an adequately dressed public official in my town."

No, that wasn't enough. Not this time. Emma shook her head to herself in resolve as she moved forward, practically dragging her feet along. She was so tired. Not just of walking or being hungover, but of this constant battle with no favorable outcome.

"I care about you."

Wait, why did that sound so close?

Turning around, Emma found herself practically nose to nose with Regina. It was probably the closest that they had allowed themselves to be, out in public. The urge to move forward another inch or two, to claim those lips without regard for who or what could see them? God, it was...

"I was right."

Emma blinked at her words, unable to place them as she chose to follow Regina's gaze instead. Lying there on the porch was the dog, still nameless as ever. Henry should be just about done with his drama practice. Regina was still inches away. It was like the end of a really ironic day.

"Let us dance."

Regina's eyes narrowed at the way that her words earlier were regurgitated, although it also made her grin smugly. So Emma had been listening. Either that, or lip reading really well. Either way, she sauntered right passed the savior and moved over to the dog. "I don't think that's advisable, considering that only one of you can stand upright for an extended period of time, Miss Swan."

Oh, so they were going to play that game, hmm?

"After I'm done with you tonight, you two can compare notes."

Regina practically scoffed at the implication, although she was proud that some of her sass had rubbed off on the mother of her son. Also, that was very promising, for someone that would be falling asleep in the car. So little self restraint.

There was always tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

For a savior, Emma looked particularly ordinary in her current state. Sprawled out on the couch, Regina had taken special care in removing her boots. One by one, she'd slipped them off and set them down neatly. A throw blanket was draped over her lithe, slumbering form and she'd managed to wiggle her feet out from underneath. Her toes peeked out of the front end.

To the blind eye, Emma looked like an overgrown child.

Ironically, said woman also happened to be the mother of her son. She kept telling herself that was why she cared. Because of Henry.

Speaking of which, he was going to be late for school if he didn't get a move on. One of his friends was coming by to get him, so that they could walk there together. Regina was mentally preparing a speech of self-awareness and precaution, despite the fact that Charming taught him how to handle a sword.

"Henry, you're going to be late!"

It was then that she heard a loud groan, peering out from the kitchen where she was preparing Henry's lunch to see a large mass hidden under the blanket.

"Rise and shine, princess."

Emma kicked the blanket off and gave Regina a sharp look, before stretching her arms above her head. Henry always did the same exact thing, because he wasn't a morning person either. She called it his stink eye.

"How are you even awake and so, so... ugh!"

"Immaculate? Perfect? An inspiration? It takes years of practice, Miss Swan. You don't just wake up one day and look this good."

"Do you even feel a little bit like crap?"

"Absolutely not. You forget that I'm a queen, dear. We don't feel such things."

Huffing over dramatically, Emma muttered something along the lines of "you don't feel anything" or "the queen of being a pain in my... ow."

Okay, so maybe the latter was more accurate, considering that Regina's mind did a lot of self-loathing on its own.

The nameless wonder decided to make its appearance, paws scuffing and skidding against the linoleum floor as it leapt up on to the couch. Emma was jolted into a sitting position, turning her head to acknowledge the loud mouth breather with twitching lips akin to something of a smile. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

"How much do you remember about last night?"

Emma's lips parted, but no words slipped out. She looked like a fish out of water. "I think... that it's way too early to be asking these philosophical questions."

Regina rolled her eyes, handing Henry his lunch as he bounded down the stairs, said his quick goodbyes, and ran out the door before either of them could change their minds. So much for the speech. Moving over to the couch, the mayor sat down between the blonde and the mutt.

"Now what?"

"Now you get up and get dressed, before I reconsider your position in this town, sheriff."

Emma grinned at the other woman, but she moved far too quickly into a standing position and doubled over, rubbing furiously at her temples.

Regina hated seeing her in this state. Without much preamble, she reached over to brush some hair behind her ears, before wrapping her free arm around Emma's waist. Guiding her into the kitchen, she sat her down by the counter and started up some tea. The savior wrinkled her nose at the smell, but said nothing. They sat there in comfortable silence as they waited.

* * *

"Mickey."

Regina looked up from her desk, quirking a brow at the sheriff's words. It took her a minute to pick up on her thought process, but when she did... oh, she almost preferred to be blissfully ignorant.

"Absolutely not. That's a boy's name."

"Michaela isn't. C'mon, Regina, it's gender neutral..."

"You do remember that I've asked you not to address me that way, right?"

Emma's eyes narrowed at the sharp tone, unaware where she'd gone wrong. Then she understood: she was being too formal, in public. "And you do remember the other night when you asked me to call you - "

"Enough!"

With her chest heaving underneath her royal blue suit jacket, the mayor of Storybrooke stood and slammed her hands against her tabletop. "I've had enough of you and your insolence. This is not a game, Miss Swan. You don't get to hold my personal life over my head. I do not owe you anything. We are done... done!"

To her credit, Emma tried not to appear as startled and confused as she felt. "What's done? Because you have made it perfectly clear that there is nothing going on here. You invited me to see Henry's play... you brought me coffee... you chased me down and got into my car." They were standing nose to nose, each of them on opposite sides of the desk.

Neither of them spoke, but the tension was thick in the room.

"Get out."

Emma didn't waste another second. She got into her yellow bug and sped off, leaving Regina behind to stare out the window. The first place that she stopped at was the pet shop, where she got Mickey's name engraved and a new collar. It had been roughly two weeks since they found the dog. If someone wanted her back badly enough, they'd be knocking at her door by now.

After pitching the idea to Henry, she was pleased to find that her son agreed with her suggestion and tried to teach the dog to respond to her new name.

It wasn't completely fruitless, but this really had nothing to do with the dog. It was an act of pride. Much like the fact that Emma waited up all night to see the look on Regina's face when she walked in, but never had the opportunity.

Regina Mills didn't come home that night.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has shown interest in this story. This chapter is where the rating will come into play: it's separated by a page break. Slightly longer than usual (hence the wait), but it didn't feel right to cut it.

* * *

Assembling a search party was always the first response when someone went missing, but Regina Mills wasn't just anyone. There were very few people that actually cared for her well-being and part of that was because they didn't get to know her. The other woman wasn't exactly an open book, either.

She knew that the mayor would never forgive her, if she inadvertedly alerted the town of her absence and was replaced before her return.

Mickey was lying by her feet as she scribbled her options out on the corner of a newspaper. Henry was upstairs, getting himself ready for another productive day at school. She'd claimed that Regina left early for a business meeting, and the boy had so much trust in her, that he believed it without question.

After dropping him off at school, Emma canvased the whole town. She didn't find any leads, but that was made easy by the fact that she didn't explicitly say who or what she was looking for. Just that she was there on official business.

Eventually, she found herself sitting in Henry's room, glancing between the framed pictures that lined his walls. Most of them included her and the Charmings, but the closest one to his bed was taken with his adoptive mother. She was unmistakably happy in that shot, making Emma reach out subconsciously to trace her laughter lines with her pointer finger.

It was then that she spotted the other walkie talkie, hidden rather discreetly behind a few stuffed animals and a bucket of green army men that were sitting atop a large toy chest.

Checking to see that it was still on, Emma tried to find the right words to say to someone that had been, and to a certain degree still actively was, the bane of her existence.

"Can I go forward when my heart is here?"

A moment passed and then another. Only brief static filled the air. Nothing.

So much for quoting Shakespeare, she thought to herself with a sigh. Setting the device back down where she found it, Emma turned to walk away. She was halfway to the door when she saw the beginnings of dark purple smoke blocking her path as the mayor materialized before her.

"Turn back, dull earth, and find thy center out."

They held each other's gaze for roughly three minutes, before they slowly started closing the gap that their animosity and denial had wedged between them. Two steps forward, no steps back. Regina reached out to grasp at the lapels of Emma's stupid red leather duster, while the savior's hands were gently cradling the sides of the other woman's face.

"Why did you run?"

It was an honest question, although Emma doubted that she would receive an honest answer without a fight. Thinking back to how crushed Regina had looked, when she alluded to watching her leave? It steeled her resolve to push forward, no matter how many barriers the queen tried to throw up.

"I was angry at you."

Well, if that wasn't a cheap shot at a response, she wasn't sure what was.

"No, you weren't."

Regina huffed in frustration, because the sheriff saw through her facade so easily and she felt powerless. Vulnerable, even. Most people in this town didn't question her authority, and if they did, then she silenced them with a grim look and a fireball.

"Damn it, Miss Swan."

* * *

Purple smoke surrounded them both and Emma instinctively closed her eyes, but Regina made her break her habit by tugging on her lower lip with her teeth. Fortunately, they reappeared in the mayor's chambers, just as hazel eyes peeled open reluctantly. A swift flick of the queen's wrist locked the door, letting them both breathe a little easier.

Backing her up against the wall, Regina alternated between mild nips to Emma's collarbone and her thumb rubbing across the slightly irritated skin, pulling away just enough to see the whole picture that lust was painting for her.

Oh, the town's savior was completely disheveled.

A surprised gasp left her lips, when the other woman's hands found purchase on the assets that she always watched as Regina walked away. Yes, she'd noticed. Her hips gyrated forward as the kneading started, bringing up her thigh to press against where the blonde needed it most.

Good, now they were almost even.

Of course, her plan of attack backfired a little when she actually felt how much Emma wanted her. Regina recovered a moment too late, finding that the dynamic had changed and she was now the one with her back against the wall. She almost felt like one of those dirty felons that Emma arrested, being handled in much the same manner.

Well, they were missing one thing, but they weren't there yet, trust-wise.

The thought that she might ever be ready? That startled Regina and she reacted out of a defensive fear, turning the tables as she pulled the sheriff in for a thorough kiss, before seizing the breathless opportunity to push her to the mattress. It was queen-sized, of course. After her experiences with kings, she never wanted anything to do with them again.

Not in this life, or the next.

Emma found herself craving every push and pull, occasionally letting herself be lead about. It didn't take being blindfolded for her to feel like she was blind. But then again, wasn't that the whole idea of love, or something like it?

Not that this was anything like that.

After taking turns undressing each other, their clothes joined the jacket that Regina loathed on the floor. That was probably her favorite part: removing that trademark piece of the sheriff's every day attire. If she were in less of a hurry to fulfill their desires, then she probably would have done it some serious harm.

Emma followed the other woman's previously rehearsed words to the dot and relished in the way that the mayor's pretty little mouth exhaled sharply. Her fingers stilled as Regina locked up, tensing to the point where it was nearly impossible to move. Clearly, it had been a while.

She watched in wonder as the dark-haired authority figure reached down to collect evidence of Emma's arousal, bringing gleaming fingertips up to her view. "Someone's been practicing," Regina murmured in an almost accusatory tone. "Tell me, who's the lucky guy? Or have you completely switched teams now, Miss Swan?"

Emma chuckled in mirth, despite the unimpressed looks that she was receiving from her bedmate. "Fuck you," she muttered, as she wiggled her fingers slightly in Regina's entrance and grinned when she was given more room. "Well, well... so the evil queen gets turned on by a dirty mouth, does she?"

Regina felt herself relax slightly, although a part of her was still trying desperately to hold on to her mask. When it had been with Leopold, it was hard and fast. She never reached her peak and found that it was easier to get him to finish, roll over, and sleep. With Graham, it was more about the pride in knowing that she could get him off, and although he tried to return the favor, she seldom let him even entertain that idea. But with Emma Swan?

It was like the most delicious possession, and instead of reaching into her chest to pull out her heart, the blonde was reaching for something far more precious: completion.

Emma didn't know about her previous affairs under the sheets and she preferred to be blissfully ignorant about the other woman's encounters, too. But if there was anyone that worked her up like they had nothing to prove, it was the savior. Regina both hated and enjoyed her lack of direction; she knew that this wasn't about Emma trying to fulfill her duties.

Regina's lips captured a stiff pebble and sucked her into a gasping frenzy, alternating between breasts while the other woman managed to ease her thighs apart. The friction of rubbing directly against each other filled the room with whimpers and grunts, elevating as the pace quickened. Emma's fingernails dragged down her back, leaving angry red lines behind.

Regina was quick to notice the fading marks, despite humming at the pain mixed with pleasure. Pinning both arms above Emma's head at the wrists, she smirked at the slight struggle while the other hand slid down the sheriff's abdomen. It was easier, now that their skin was slick with sweat and wandering kisses.

"Regina..."

She paused, easing her grip slightly on Emma's wrists as she became slightly concerned that she was holding her too tightly. But the blonde shook her head, keeping her hands pinned to the bed even when they were released. "What is it?"

"You... what were you - oh fuck," Emma husked under her breath, her eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head as Regina's adventurous fingers pried her netherlips open as their hipbones clashed in the oldest of dances.

Regina didn't ease up on her ministrations, using her free hand to grip the other woman's chin and turning her head rather forcefully, so that their eyes met. "I was angry at myself," she replied, the vulnerability in her words contradictioning her jerky, almost rough movements.

"Why?"

Emma managed to utter that single word, before a particularly rough thrust pushed her to the brink and she was dangling over the precipice.

"Because, for the first time since Daniel was taken from me, I realized that I had something to lose. Not just my son - well, our son. But this arrangement between us," Regina was able to bite out, stilling her hips as Emma panted beneath her and groaned as she was pulled back from the edge.

"You're not going to lose me."

Regina wanted to believe her, she did. But her heart was too blackened by past experiences to make her capable of such comprehension. "Let go, Emma."

Even as those manicured fingers started to work her up again, Emma shook her head and grit her teeth together. "No," she stated simply. She was not going to let her go. Even if it meant getting her heart broken, or being treated differently if everyone else found out about her daliances with not just another woman, but the queen.

An evil queen, nonetheless.

Regina narrowed her eyes and scissored her fingers, watching as flawless white skin became flushed. There was a small mark on her collarbone, where she'd dug into earlier. No amount of concealer would hide that, should Emma heed her words and find another lover.

Yes, it was selfish and self-serving, but Regina felt like she was entitled to be that way, for all those years of watching men do it.

Emma managed to tangle her legs with the other pair, flipping them over. Placing her hands on either side of Regina's head, she tried to catch her breath as their hips continued to move against each other. Unable to form any words, she settled for trying to beat the queen at her own game.

At least, that's what she told herself as the next set of words slipped from her lips.

"Let go, Regina. Not of me, but of this lie that you keep telling yourself. That you are not worthy, that you are not enough, that you don't deserve it. Let go for you and know that I will catch you. Let go."

That was the last thing that Regina heard, before surrendering to the waves of pleasure and feeling Emma's soft lips pressing against every inch of her cooling skin.


End file.
